Gobble de Art Blog

Hello Hokies! ‘Tis me, Dottie! With the holiday season quickly approaching I figured I’d give you an insight on one of my favorite holiday traditions: giving back to the community! Here at Virginia Tech our very own university motto is Ut Prosim which is Latin for “That I May Serve.” This motto and the Principles of Community stands as a foundation for the development of personal relationships, physical spaces, and intercultural experiences, which create strong communities such as ours here in Blacksburg. These communities compel students to understand and develop a value system that will guide their decisions and enable them to offer themselves as responsible citizens even after they move on from Blacksburg.

I know you’re wondering, “Dottie! Where can I practice this amazing motto our university has?!” Well, my fellow Hokies, you’re in luck! Here are my three favorite ways to give back to the community during holiday season.

Spend Some Time or Donate to the Interfaith Food Pantry

One of the best ways to give back this holiday season is to give some of your time or even spare food to the local food pantry! Founded in 1987, the Interfaith Food Pantry has proudly served families of Blacksburg for years. It’s run entirely by volunteers and all needs are met through cash and food donations. You can volunteer your time at the food pantry or drop off food donations to families in need. Information about their location and ways to get into contact with board members can be found here on their website! http://newrivercommunityaction.org/IFP/about-us/

Hangout with Santa at the Community Christmas Store

Just a quick drive down to Roanoke will bring you to the Community Christmas Store which focuses on families with children and seniors who aren’t as fortunate as others. The empty building transforms into a mini-department store each year, complete with Christmas decorations and a festive atmosphere. Recipient families receive goods such as a new outfit, or toy for the child, while the child’s family receives a new household item. The store is operated solely by volunteers so the more the merrier! Grab some of your friends and drive to Roanoke to help give back to the community in a fun and festive way! https://rvgives.givebig.org/c/rvgives/a/roanokevalleyccs

Give Back to the Seniors at Warm Hearth

Some of us Hokies live away from home, so that means we don’t get to see our grandparents as much as we’d like. What’s a better way to feel at home than to spend some time with the local seniors at Warm Hearth here in Blacksburg! With more than 40 years of experience caring for seniors, Warm Hearth Village is the New River Valley’s only comprehensive, nonprofit retirement community. Located within the view of Virginia Tech with lots of recreational opportunities and events, it’s the perfect place to spend your free time on the weekends. Besides, the holiday season is the perfect time to make relationships with memories that’ll last a lifetime! http://www.retire.org

There you have it Hokies! Pick one of these amazing opportunities or maybe do all three and enjoy yourself while giving back to the community this holiday season!

As we Hokies know, spring brings about some beautiful traditions and opportunities to uphold Ut Prosim. However, spring also brings some sad memories as well.

This year marks the eleventh year since we lost 32 lovely Hokies. These 32 individuals deserve to be at the front of our memory this week, next week, and forever. As Hokies, it is our duty to commemorate these souls by showing each other true kindness, participating in altruistic service, and embracing the foundations of our community. We must show love in order to properly love those we so heartbreakingly lost.

As Nikki Giovanni so brilliantly put it, let us never forget that “We are Virginia Tech.” Monday will be a hard day for many families and individuals of our community. It will be a hard day for the Hokie community as we mourn those who lost their lives. It will be a hard day for the faculty and staff that so reluctantly had to experience the tragedy. It will be hard. But, to quote Giovanni once more, “We will prevail.” We will always prevail. We will always hold hope in our Hokie hearts and love in our Hokie souls. We will cherish each other as individuals, cherish each other as a community, cherish each other as friends, and cherish each other as large Hokie family.

We will never forget; but, we will never lose our hope for this nation and our love for this college. We remember.

Hello, Hokies! Saturday was Veteran’s Day and out of respect I want to say a huge thank you to all the men and women who have served—or are still serving— our country. There are so many things about this country to love. Sometimes, we forget how beautiful and wonderful our country really is. Sometimes, we forget how lucky we truly are. Sometimes, we forget how amazing it is to be an American. Sometimes, we forget that we have it easy, that there are soldiers risking their lives for us. It’s easy to forget. But today I want to remember. Today I want to take a moment to tell you why we should all be thankful, why we should all be grateful.

First, let me start with my Hokies. I may be a tad bit biased, but I think that Virginia Tech is the most wonderful place on earth.What makes the university even better is how it values veterans. Virginia Tech is a military school; it has a long history with the military and still cherishes service today. The university goes out of its way to help and hire veterans and those who serve. Thank you, Virginia Tech for appreciating those who serve and acknowledging their sacrifice. Thank you for teaching your students what service truly means, by embodying UT Prosim. And a very big thank you to the cadets who help our college thrive, create a loving and serving environment, and plan on serving our country as well.

Now, I want to talk to you about why we should thank all of our countries veterans. Today, most of us woke up in warm beds safely, no fear in our hearts or minds. Today, most of us ate a nice, quiet breakfast, undisturbed by chaos and warfare. Today, we can voice our opinions about politics and government without the being harmed or imprisoned. Today, we can drive safely to work, humming to our favorite tunes. Today, we can hold our children in our arms. Today, we can do anything. Today, we are free.

Soldiers and Veterans, thank you for your service. Because of you, us citizens have freedoms. Because of you, us citizens have hope. Because of you, us citizens are safe. I hope you all had a wonderful Veterans day.